SAM'S BLOG
Posted: February 08, 2011
========================================================================
Super Bowl XLV
Couple of things from the "North Texas" (Dallas) Super Bowl XLV:
The weather was horrible. It was flat-out cold. All week, until Saturday it never got above freezing. That combined with the snow made for some interesting driving. Crunchy snow and ice were all over the roads and since they don’t have any snow-removal equipment in Dallas, you were out there fending for yourself. I was driving to the hotel and back to the stadium for the live shot doing about 45 mph. The car was sliding around a bit but nothing crazy. Until I came up on somebody doing 10, about a dozen times! I figured they had never been in or maybe even seen snow so I guess I had to go along. The people in Dallas were very hospitable trying to overcome the weather issues. They want the game back there for Super Bowl L (50) but I don’t think so. LA is the favorite for that one, team or no team.
I was sitting at a hotel bar having dinner on Saturday night watching the Gators basketball game when I saw "E" from "Entourage" sitting two seats down. I fought the urge to yell "Hey E!" all night after that.
I did walk through the bar on my way to the men’s room only to be caught in a logjam among the crush of patrons enjoying the festivities. One guy in front of me was blocking the isle between the bar and some tables so I tried to slip by, but with no luck. I finally, like all guys have (or have had done to them) grabbed him lightly by the shoulders and started to turn him so I could get by. He recognized he was in the way and started to move with the crowd kind of floated toward us and made it very close quarters. As I turned him to get by I noticed he had a cochlear ear implant and even as that thought went into my head it was superceded by "This is Rush Limbaugh!"
And it was.
"How ‘ya doin’ Rush," I said as I went by. "Great," he responded and that was that. He and his wife stood at the corner of the bar without being bothered by anybody (but me and my friend Matt I suppose). They were engaged in an animated conversation and clearly were talking about football and just about anything else. I shook his hand on the way out and said, "Love your work, keep it up." He shouted "Thank you," and I headed out the door. He did give me a "fist bump" that I’m still not sure what to make of. It was good to see a very big celebrity somewhere just enjoying the moment without worrying about security, camera phones, whatever.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame meeting took about 8 hours. That’s the longest ever. The five guys plus the two Senior Candidates we put in were all deserving. It’s a difficult process because going in you know you have to eliminate 2 out of every 3 names on the ballot. Which one of the five guys we put in would you throw out to put your guy in? That’s the dilemma. I’d like to see more allowed in each class and perhaps "contributors" get their own classification but as of right now, that’s not going to happen. The give and take in the room is very spirited and very serious. I can promise you one thing: Everybody gets their fair shake. The knowledge and the research done are unparalleled. We’re not putting somebody in willy nilly trying to get to the bar.
I took Matt down to Elm Street to see the scene of the Kennedy assassination on Saturday. Like me, he was taken by how small the space is and how it’s just "right there." No real monuments, just a couple of "x’s" in the road and a plaque on the wall. It’s all as you imagine: the grassy knoll, the Sixth Floor window (now a museum). If you’re ever in Dallas, you should go by there to see a big part of American history. A sad chapter, but history nonetheless.
|
